Tarrant glanced at Samantha, who’d apparently pretended not to hear. He resisted the temptation to point out that his third wife’s breasts were entirely natural, for that would only have been falling into his sharp-witted daughter’s trap.
“What do you think, dear?” He looked at Samantha, who ate her vegetable omelet quietly. She was capable of appearing to completely ignore her surroundings when it suited her. An admirable skill he’d never acquired himself.
“I agree that Dominic seems to care for Bella. I don’t think you should fire her. He’s warming up to the idea of taking over the company, whether he admits it or not. If you push her out you might drive him away.”
“You think he’d throw over the magnificent Hardcastle Empire because of a girl he barely knows?”
Samantha’s bright gaze warned him to listen. “Don’t forget, we barely know him. But he’s obviously a man of strong feelings and deep convictions.”
Tarrant tapped his fingers on the table. “I know. That’s why I like him so much.”
“Be careful, sweetheart.” Samantha touched his hand with her soft fingers. Her blue eyes shone with concern. “I know how much he means to you. He says he can solve this problem, so trust him. You have more important things to worry about.”
“Yes.” Tarrant rubbed his hands together. “Like my ‘Studio 54 Revisited’ party. Might as well relive the good old days before I go.” He grinned, then balled up his napkin and tossed it at Fiona. “Make sure Bella Soros is on the guest list.”
Bella studied the envelope again. Thick silver paper, hand- inked in black script, addressed to her.
She glanced up at the other people in the lab. Had Tarrant invited all the employees to his latest party? His guest lists usually featured socialites, celebrities and “bright young things,” not company employees.
The invitation card, printed on shimmering Mylar, announced that the party would be held in the original Studio 54 location.
“RSVP not required. You will attend.”
That had Tarrant written all over it, but Bella couldn’t help but wonder if Dominic was behind the mysterious invitation.
And behind something far stranger she’d received by messenger the previous evening.
“Hi, Bella.”
She jumped at the sound of his voice. Since she’d come back to the office after their weekend encounter at her house, he seemed to be tailing her. Everywhere she turned, there he was.
Watching her like a prison guard.
It was getting to the point that she could feel his eyes on her even when she knew there was absolutely no way he could be looking.
Like in the shower that morning.
Or in bed at night in her sweltering sixth-floor walk-up, when the beads of perspiration sliding over her skin felt like the caress of cool fingers.
And now that same skin heated under its covering of permanent-press polyester, sure of his steady gaze, though her back was to him. “Mr. Hardcastle.”
“It’s Di Bari.”
“You haven’t changed it yet?” She kept her profile to him. Tried to pluck up the courage to say what she had to say.
“I’m not planning to change it.”
She turned to face him, determined not to be affected by his handsome features or penetrating gaze. “What about when you take over the company?”
“When I take over...” He paused and his eyes narrowed. “If I take over Hardcastle Enterprises, I’ll do it as myself.”
She lifted a brow. “Does your dad know that?”
“He knows a lot of things.”
Her stomach clenched. Despite his protestations to the contrary, Dominic was so polite, such a gentleman, that she had a tendency to forget he held her career in the palm of his broad, tanned hand.
And apparently he’d decided to squeeze it a little.
“Um, Dominic. I received some papers this morning. They seem to be contracts...to release my mother from the hospital.” She cleared her throat. “Do you know anything about this?”
He tilted his head and surveyed her with innocent, deep-brown eyes. “How would I know anything?”
She looked around to make sure no one else was listening. “Because you’re the only one who knows my mom is there.”
“I can’t be the only one who knows. What about her neighbors and friends, for example?”
She glanced around the lab. Kumar was bent over the electron microscope. Sue held a rack of test tubes up to the light. They wouldn’t mind if the meeting was delayed a few minutes, but they might start listening if she didn’t take this behind closed doors.
Bella gestured for Dominic to follow her to the copy room. Once inside, she closed the door and flipped open the cover letter, printed on the letterhead of a Miami law firm.
“An anonymous donor will cover all expenses related to the care of Mrs. Cornelia Soros in her own home by two experienced registered nurses with expertise in the mental health field.” She glanced up at him.
He watched her, silent.
She folded the letter up, her heart beating fast. “I can’t accept it.”
“Why are you telling me?” His hard features remained expressionless.
“Because it has to be you. Who else?”
“Obviously whoever it is wishes to remain anonymous. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? Don’t you think your mom would be better off at home?”
“Well, yes, but...” She drew back her shoulders. “I can’t accept it. I won’t be in your debt. You’ve already got me where you want me, and you know it. You could ruin me in a moment. I won’t have my mother’s life hanging in the balance too.”
Dominic’s brow furrowed. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Our deal.'' She emphasized the second word with raised eyebrows.
He stared at her for a moment, then dawning realization showed in the gleam of his eyes. “Do you really think I’m the kind of guy who’d insist on hot sex as a condition for paying for your mom’s medical care?” He laughed.
Bella colored. That did sound bad. “Well, no, but, I don’t want to accept any handouts either.”
“What, you’d be happier if there was a lawsuit involved?” He lifted a brow.
“No! Of course not. I take full responsibility for everything I do, and that includes taking care of my mom. I don’t want her being jerked around like a puppet because someone wants to teach me a lesson of some kind.”
Dominic’s mouth had flattened into a line. “I don’t want to teach you any damn lesson. Not that you couldn’t stand to learn a thing or two. I just want to help you out.”
He leaned in and glowered at her. “No, scratch that. I don’t want to help you. I’d like to help your mom, and since I’m in a position to do so, I don’t see why you’re making such a big fuss about it.”
Bella’s mouth fell open.
So. He admitted he was behind it.
She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I can’t even begin to imagine how much two private nurses cost.”
“Lucky thing you don’t have to. They’re the best there is. Years of experience, and nice people. I got references.”
“Why are you doing this?” She peered at him, trying to see what lay behind the dark surface of his gaze.
“Because I can. What’s the point of having money if you don’t enjoy spending it?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. Why on earth would Dominic enjoy spending money on someone he’d never met? “Some people would buy a flashy car.”
“I already have one.” A smile hovered behind the hard line of his mouth. “Actually, I have three. After a while the thrill wears off.”
“And paying for my mom to come home will make you happy?”
Dominic stared at her. “Make me happy? I don’t understand the way your crazy mind works. I hope it will make your mom happy, or at least get her on the road to recovery. Did you sign the papers?”
Bella swallowed. “I signed them, but I didn’t mail them.”
<
br /> Satisfaction tilted the corners of his mouth. “Then you do think it’s a good idea.”
“For my mom to come home? Yes. For me to accept charity from you?” She blew out a breath.
“It’s not charity. It’s a gift. You’ve never had a gift before?”
“Not like that.”
“Well, you don’t seem like the flashy-car type.” Humor shone in his eyes.
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Did I say I did?”
“This has nothing to do with our deal?'
He looked at her steadily. “Nothing whatsoever.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“You’d better not. It’s rude to pay back for a gift.”
“Are you always this stubborn?”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter Fifteen
The bright, humming lights of the copy room made Bella blink.
Dominic must have put a lot of thought into the situation and gone to a lot of trouble for a woman he’d never even met. That filled her with sharp and unfamiliar feelings that underscored her guilt over her duplicity.
“I know you hate what I’ve been doing. As soon as ReNew launches, I’m going to leave.”
“Why should you leave? I bet your mom will be proud to see your dad’s work carried on in the products you developed.”
Bella shrugged. “Cosmetic preparations are not the end result my dad dreamed of for his experiments, but I’m pretty proud of them.”
“You should be.”
She drew in a deep breath. “ReNew launches on Tuesday with a big media blitz. The consumer line will be carried in Nordstroms all over the country, and several large metro hospitals have already ordered the medical line. I can leave as early as next week without feeling I cheated Tarrant out of anything.” She was trying to convince herself as well as him.
“You can’t leave.” The words shot out of his mouth.
She held her head high. “I’d have thought you’d be happy to see the bad apple roll out of the barrel.”
He couldn’t stand to even sleep in the same house as her, let alone the same room. He’d made not the slightest hint that he’d ever like to kiss her again.
Or even touch her.
He watched her like a security camera, his expression guarded and intense, as if waiting to catch her doing something wrong.
And paying for her mom to have private care was both a gesture of shocking generosity and a sharp tightening in the noose he already held around her neck, keeping her in his debt.
Maybe he wanted to keep her here where he could watch her.
Control her.
Her skin quivered at the nearness of him. Close enough to feel his body heat through the wool of his expensive suit.
He edged toward her again, crowding her, almost crushing her against the machine. She steadied herself with a palm on the open, glass surface.
“Now is not a good time for you to go. Trust me.”
“Why?” A curl of fear unfurled in her gut.
“Tarrant won’t take kindly to a defection when he’s sick.”
“It’s hardly a defection. Scientists move around all the time. The only way he’d be angry was if he knew...” She stared at his face. “But he doesn’t know about me.”
Dominic watched her, eyes narrowed, expression unreadable. His lips parted as if he was about to say something, for a split second the air hummed with painful anticipation that drowned out the hum of the Xerox machine and the florescent lights.
Bella’s heart started to beat faster. “He doesn’t know, does he?”
Dominic didn’t say anything.
Her breath stuck at the bottom of her lungs and her heart threatened to explode from her chest.
His brow furrowed and he stared at her until her skin tingled, then he grabbed her and kissed the last gasps of breath right out of her body.
Bella shuddered with terrible relief as she wound her arms around his neck, unable to think of anything but falling into his embrace. His lips and arms were warm and so very, very welcome.
His kiss answered her question. He’d kept her secret.
His mouth wandered over her cheek and throat, kissing and biting until she wanted to cry out with passion. Her skin hummed under his fingers as he moved them roughly over her lab coat, then reached under it to grab her skirt.
Desire filled her like an ache as she pushed against him, trapped between the big copy machine and his hard body. With trembling fingers, she reached under his suit jacket, and slid her fingers into the waistband of his pants. He grew hard against her as their tongues wound around each other and they tore at each other’s clothes.
She felt the smooth plastic of the machine against the back of her thighs as he hiked her dress higher and rubbed her bare skin with his hands. She tilted her hips into his hard erection and enjoyed the deep guttural groan that escaped his mouth.
He slid his hands inside her panties and squeezed her backside. She was already wet, craving him inside her. Thwarted, wounded desire had built inside her since he’d turned down a night in her bed. Now it overflowed, soaking her senses with hot and urgent need.
His strong leg parted hers. He lifted her and settled her on the edge of the machine, then leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth.
She’d managed to undo the front of his pants and reach inside. He shuddered as she touched his erection, and he pushed against her, shoving her further back onto the glassy surface. She tugged at his shirt, struggling with the buttons, trying to remove the annoying obstacle between her hot skin and his.
She shivered with agonizing arousal as he leaned into her, almost close enough to enter her.
Then she heard it.
Whhhhrrrrrrr. Ka-thunk.
She opened her eyes to see a blinding flash of white light as a streak of heat ran under her exposed buttocks. She gasped, shifting off the machine as if it had stung her, as the picture spit out the side.
“Oh my God, what are we doing?” Bella tugged at her lab coat as she leaped away from the copy machine. Her panties were halfway down her thighs and she struggled to pull them up. “The door’s not even locked!”
She reached for the piece of paper but Dominic beat her to it, snatching it out of the dispenser and holding it out of reach above her head.
He had a wicked smile on his face. “I’m framing this one.” Bella’s body still stung with arousal, but she tried to think sensibly. “Give it to me, I’ll shred it.”
“No way.” His eyes glittered. “I’ll lock the door.”
“We can’t, my staff is outside! They’ll hear...”
“I don’t think I can go through the rest of the afternoon like this.” He winced.
“No, you need to tuck your shirt in. You look a mess.”
“I’m not sure I can. I’m kind of sensitive down there right now. What are you doing to me, Bella?”
She’d managed to wriggle her panties back up. Thank goodness she hadn’t worn pantyhose because of the summer heat. They’d be in shreds.
“I’m trying to bring you back to your senses. Give me that!” She lunged at the paper, but he yanked it out of reach. Easy, since he was so much taller. He held it up to the light and examined it.
A crisp, clean, grayscale image of her generous buttocks— grasped firmly in Dominic’s strong hands—pressed against the shiny glass of the machine.
“Now that’s what I call art.” His voice sounded gruff.
“Some people would call it a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen. I think it would be in everyone’s best interests to shred it immediately.”
“I agree. Tarrant might not take it kindly that you’ve cruelly seduced his firstborn and left him in such a painful predicament.”
“Me? I’m not the one who suggested we come in here. I have work to do. I don’t have time to xerox my ass for fun.”
“It is fun though, isn’t it? Can you think of any other parts we should capture?” One dark eyebrow lifted. He st
ill held the offending image about a foot out of her reach.
“I can think of some parts that deserve a good swift kick.”
“Promises, promises. Hey, I saw the silver envelope. Are you going to the party?”
“Of course. It says ‘You will attend.’ Doesn’t leave me much choice.”
A smile crept across Dominic’s mouth. “Good.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, squashing her suddenly alert nipples. “Why was I invited?”
“Only Tarrant and his secret inner circle know the answer to that question.”
“I’d have thought you were firmly inside the inner circle by now.”
“Tarrant just wants me to take over the company. I haven’t been entrusted with anything as important as one of his parties.”
She tried hard not to catch his infectious grin. His slightly crooked lower teeth were the only imperfection in his otherwise magazine-cover-perfect image. They added a naturalness to his smile that made it all the more irresistible.
Apparently she had no powers of resistance at all where Dominic was concerned.
A knock on the door made them freeze. With a jolt of terror, she glanced at the picture of her bare backside held between his long fingers
“Just a minute!” She leaned toward him and hissed. “Give me that!”
“Nope.” He winked.
“The door has no lock!” she whispered. “At least put it away.”
Who would knock? Someone who suspected she was doing more than copying paper in here. Did her employees know she was carrying on a torrid affair with the boss’s son? She’d be the hot topic around every watercooler in the company.
Knock, knock, knock.
Bella straightened her lab coat and headed for the door— and escape. “I have a meeting to lead. I’ll leave you to answer for yourself.”
She opened the door with a practiced smile. “Hi, Sue. I was just copying some notes.” She realized too late her hands were empty. “I left them in the file. I’ll grab them later.”
Sue glanced past her, and Bella couldn’t resist looking back at Dominic. Somehow the paper had disappeared. His suit jacket was buttoned over any offending protrusions.
“Sue, this is Dominic...Di Bari.” He’d said he wasn’t changing his name. “He’s learning all about the company. Do help him out if he needs anything, as I’m late for a meeting.” And with another officious smile she swept out of the room and took off across the lab at a brisk pace.
Volatile Chemistry (Billionaires' Secrets Book 1) Page 11